Police using mobile phone app to catch dodgy drivers

David Brennan

Drivers with no insurance or tax, or driving with false number plates, now have no place to hide from Northamptonshire Police thanks to a handy new mobile phone app.

Officers can now check all vehicle details instantly using an automatic number plate recognition app and the camera on their Blackberry mobile phones.

Vehicles can be checked in an instant by the app. It checks a vehicle’s insurance, tax, whether it is stolen and if it is previously known to the police.

It also identifies the correct make and model of the vehicle, showing if it may have false number plates. And it can also feed back exactly where a car is photographed, for future evidence.

Northamptonshire Police and Crime Commissioner Adam Simmonds, said: “This is another way we are using new technology to crack crime. Not long ago we launched an app for people’s mobile phones enabling them to view people the police want to talk to. Both these things will help us better fight crime.”

The application, designed by QRO Solutions in partnership with Northamptonshire Police, works simply by using the camera on the phone to capture a number plate. This is then fed back to the ANPR system which checks the details.

The ANPR system, which until now has been operated by remote fixed cameras and an operator based at headquarters, can now be used by any officer out on the beat with a BlackBerry mobile phone.